Bookworm Speaks!-Coming to Las Vegas by Carolyn V. Hamilton

Bookworm Speaks!

Coming to Las Vegas: A True Tale of Sex, Drugs, & Sin City in the ’70’s

by Carolyn V. Hamilton

*****

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review from Word Slinger Publicity

The Story: Carolyn V. Hamilton arrives in Las Vegas in 1973 to join a circus. When that job doesn’t work out, she opens the new MGM Grand Hotel/Casino as a cocktail waitress. This turns out to be more involved than a nice Lutheran girl from Seattle would think: parties, stealing, sex, drinking and drugs are the main entertainment for a bored crew of casino employees. Some waitresses date culinary union bosses, who have their own high drama of payoffs, fights for control, fire bombings and an 18-day culinary union strike. Each story told in the is memoir-of the Martin Scorsese Casino era of Las Vegas-is true, and many are humorous as well as outrageous. (From the back cover)

The Good: Vegas Baby! What more could you want? It may not be as big as New York City or Los Angeles but Vegas is a famous city that has always stood in a league of its own. Lots of money flows through that glittering oasis in the Nevada desert and where there is money there is drama. Sex workers, gamblers, tourists, mobsters, poors and millionaires, all throw their hats into Vegas and crazy stories can be had across its history.

Anything can happen in Vegas and the stories in this book are proof of that. It is amazing the sheer variety of souls that work and visit the MGM Grand and the wacky lives they lead. While they never too explicit, it works in the books favor that the author mentions sex so often, because that is part of Vegas. She tells the nitty gritty of life on the strip and the ins and outs of how a casino works. It is good insight to the inner workings of Las Vegas. Seeing the inner-workings of a lot of things such as resorts and theme parks can be extremely fascinating. 

While it is not the focus, Carolyn does mention the mob presence that still persisted in 70’s Las Vegas. Where there is money, there is crime. In this day and age, international conglomerates rule the Las Vegas Strip. This leads Bookworm to wonder what the Mob presence in Vegas is like. Probably still there, just with more ‘under the board’ entertainment options. 

This book also appeals to the inner Social Justice Warrior as it sheds light on the conditions the casino workers, especially women, faced and still face to this day in casinos in Vegas and other places. Many of them were downright abusive and exploitive and that was still with union protection. Many say things have gotten worse for them and it is good that their stories are shared. 

Carolyn tells her story in very relatable way. It helps that she was in her thirties when she started the job, as she had some life experience. It gives her a unique perspective as she watches the twenty-somethings slowly succumb to the vices of Sin City. All too often…memoirs about sexy female workers are often tales of their lives spiraling out of control. While Carolyn, near the end did find herself becoming hooked on the sex and drugs of the strip, the reader can tell that she kept some control over her life and did not get involved in a destructive relationship. This makes this book an extremely refreshing read in that its not a pity party. 

The Flaws: What keeps this story so engaging is colorful array of characters that Carolyn works with and encounters during her tenure but to be frank, sometimes it feels like there are too many characters to deal with. It gets easier as the reader continues on but it can be difficult to keep track of which character is which. Is Ronni the one with the kid or was that Lara. Is the Lenny the boss or is it Jimmy. It gets confusing in the beginning. 

One of the biggest flaws in this book was its ending or lack thereof. It just sort of stops instead of wrapping things up. There is a brief epilogue that describes the fate of many of the characters but Carolyn’s story is only lightly touched upon. It would have really been nice to have read a “real” ending, an afterword that elaborated Carolyn’s life and after the MGM Grand. We have been taken on a journey from her life as a newly-wed, to a veteran of the Strip, and a girl who has finally had enough. We have not seen the whole story and frankly, feel like were ripped off, like we have been treated to a great meal but did not get desert. Its not that big of a deal but after getting to know Carolyn through the pages of this book, the story is incomplete. 

On a technical note, there are a few formatting errors in the book itself. This may be because Bookworm received what was most likely a first edition but there were several pictures without any captions and there are no page numbers. The book lists chapters but without pages numbers, there are pretty much rendered worthless. Again, Bookworm probably did not receive a finalized version but it was bump on the reading path of this book. 

Final Verdict: For any reader who loves Las Vegas (as Bookworm does) this book could be considered required reading. It harkens back to an age before the mega-resorts took over Vegas. A love letter to the past. 

Four out of Five Stars

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